Despite calling itself Godzilla Minus One, the film is not a sequel or a prequel. While it takes inspiration from many prior Godzilla films, including the original 1954 film and the 2016 reboot Shin Godzilla, it does not occur in a previously established timeline.
Summary. Godzilla Minus One focuses on human characters, emphasizing their stories and emotions over CGI monsters. The film stays true to Godzilla's original concept as a symbol of chaos and destruction, differing from the MonsterVerse approach.
Ando also noted that it is a period piece set in postwar Japan between 1945 and 1947, citing Yamazaki's comments from an interview regarding his depiction of Godzilla in Always: Sunset on Third Street 2: "You can't have Godzilla unless it's the Shōwa era".
Yes, Godzilla Minus One is a reboot, as it doesn't continue any plot points from Toho's 32 previous entries in the Godzilla franchise. It also doesn't include any characters from earlier installments other than Godzilla himself – and even then, the movie introduces a new incarnation of the legendary creature.
Godzilla Minus One is not connected to the 2016 film Shin Godzilla, despite both being produced by Toho Studios. The Godzilla in Minus One is a fully-formed creature in the late 1940s, while the Godzilla in Shin Godzilla evolves throughout the film.
Do I need to know anything before seeing Godzilla Minus One?
It does help that as this is a post-second-world-war period film, presumably functioning as a prequel, absolutely zero knowledge of any of the numerous preceding movies in the Godzilla franchise is required to enjoy Godzilla Minus One.
Godzilla long been called the “King of Monsters,” but recent movies seem to have forgotten that. In the Monsterverse, Godzilla has acted more as an antihero and protector of humanity, the guardian who keeps far worse things from being birthed into the world.
Instead, you see real people struggling with real problems, but none more so than Koichi. It is clear that he suffers from PTSD, with nightmares preventing him from sleeping and bursts of negative emotion coming out when people around him try to make light of the war.
What does Godzilla represent in Godzilla Minus One?
The character Godzilla was created after WWII and served as a metaphor for the destruction caused by the hydrogen bomb. Godzilla Minus One takes place right after WWII when Japan was considered to be at "zero" following the devastation cause by the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Godzilla Minus One is Toho Studios' 33rd entry in the Godzilla canon. Designed to celebrate Godzilla's 70th anniversary, it's simultaneously a franchise reboot and a standalone reimagining of the original 1954 film. The movie is completely separate from Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse series, too.
Like the Heisei Godzilla, this Godzilla began life as a dinosaur-like creature who battled servicemen on a remote Pacific island in World War II and was later mutated by American nuclear testing in the Pacific (prior to the Futurians' altering of history).
They manage to trap Godzilla within the suspension cables of the Brooklyn Bridge, allowing the returning Air Force to strike it down with missiles. Godzilla collapses to the ground where the taxi is smashed under its jaw and slowly dies from its mortal wounds, and the remaining citizens and authorities celebrate.
The smaller size of Godzilla in Godzilla Minus One actually enhances the sense of danger and brutality, making it more terrifying than its larger predecessors. The smaller scale of the action sequences allows for a closer look at the monster's brutality, with close-up shots emphasizing its animalistic nature.
Godzilla Minus One is a standalone Godzilla film, which means you do not need to watch any other movies before you see it. That said, if you want to brush on everyone's favorite big scaly monster before you head to the theater, here a few movies that you can watch at home that might get you in the right headspace.
Whereas Goku learned the Kaio-Ken from King Kai, Godzilla obtained his pink form from absorbing the DNA of a fellow kaiju named Tiamat. Differing power-up circumstances aside, Krichevsky confirmed that— like Goku's Kaio-Ken — Godzilla's pink form is temporary.
The film's focus on human characters sets it apart from other Godzilla movies, with a compelling father-daughter story that adds heart to the monster movie. While the film ends with Godzilla seemingly defeated, the final shot suggests that he may still be alive, leaving room for more exploration and future sequels.
What was the saddest monster and human death in the Godzilla franchise? The saddest monster death wasn't a death, per say, but it was framed as one until the next movie where we learned he survived. It was Godzilla himself from 1984/5, when he freejumps into a volcano.
It's a message for mutual aid told through the kaiju genre. It's perhaps the best call for stepping up to help your neighbors in cinema in some time. Godzilla Minus One, like the original, is rooted in the damage left by the atomic bombings of Japan.
At the beginning of the film, he is annoyed at the intrusion of soldiers on the island, furious that the war is disturbing his sacred waters. Later, he is absolutely incandescent with rage, mutated into a behemoth, and seemingly, unable to die.
What was the black thing on her neck in Godzilla Minus One?
What's more, Noriko mysteriously survived with minimal damage, save for an obfuscated black mark on her neck. During Godzilla Fest in Osaka, director Takashi Yamazaki confirmed that the black marks on Noriko's neck were Godzilla cells or G-cells.
The first Godzilla movie to ever make me cry actual tears while watching it, Godzilla Minus One addresses snout-on, with the full force of an atomic blast, the longstanding complaint that Godzilla movies never give us human characters to care about.
The rivalry between Godzilla and King Kong is well noted within their established mythos, including and especially the current MonsterVerse canon, but there's one kaiju Godzilla hates far more than Kong (or any other Titan, for that matter): King Ghidorah - and there's only one reason as to why.
Ebirah is one of the weakest monsters Godzilla has ever faced. A giant crustacean, Ebirah lacks many of the traits and capabilities necessary to fight the King of Monsters effectively.
The low production budget of Godzilla Minus One is largely due to lower labor costs in Japan, where wages for artists and filmmakers are kept lower compared to North America. While Godzilla Minus One's low budget is impressive, it may come at the expense of the livelihoods of the artists involved.
